


The valiant never taste of death but once

by Fandom_Encyclopedia (sparrowsong07)



Series: The Capricorn Chronicles [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Good Adam Taurus, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Volume 5 (RWBY), Redemption, Self-Indulgent, Sharing a Bed, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:01:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25643233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparrowsong07/pseuds/Fandom_Encyclopedia
Summary: Adam Taurus redemption (but I made him start out as a better character than canon anyway) in which he travels with SSSN to Vacuo.Takes place after volume 5AKA: I ignore RWBY canon, ship a rare-pair of which i've populated most of the tag, and become a general nuisance to the fandom populace.
Relationships: Adam Taurus/Neptune Vasilias, Sage Ayana/Scarlet David
Series: The Capricorn Chronicles [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661653
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! Hope you're ready for a long ride.

  
  
  
  
Adam wasn't upset that Blake left. Well, upset, yes. Surprised? No. He was overbearing, overprotective. He wanted to wrap Blake up and keep her from the harshness of the world. And he hurt her, it was all his fault.   
  
He thought he had made peace with that.   
  
But the second she left? She went crawling to the humans. She hid her ears, betraying her people,  _ betraying everything they had worked for. _ _  
_ _  
_ He confronted her, screaming about how dare she help the very people that hated them just for existing?   
  
That particular event happened outside of Haven. And now here Adam was, stumbling through the brambles and bushes. Blood dripped out his side.   
  
Regret slammed into him. He didn't want to go after Blake. He just wanted her to  _ see.  _ And yet, here he was. Bleeding out onto the ground, no White Fang around to help, police looking to arrest him. Mask broken and discarded, leaving his face visible.   
  
In short? He was helpless. Vulnerable.   
  
He couldn't walk anymore. He was leaving a trail. He had to patch his wound to keep moving.   
  
Adam shakily sat propped on a tangle of tree roots. He lifted up his vest and shirt, revealing a long stripe of bloody flesh on the left side of his body.   
  
A bullet that just barely avoided embedding itself into Adam’s stomach. It had been shot aiming for the center of his stomach, but whoever shot it had shaky hands.   
  
It didn't matter.   
  
He took his vest off, leaving him in a steadily growing redder white shirt. Adam unsheaths Wilt from Blush, and uses her to cut his vest into strips of cloth.   
  
He dabbs gently at his wound, hissing in pain the whole while. He doesn't have any way to clean it, but that's a problem for future Adam.   
  
He steadily wraps the makeshift bandages around his waist, blood already oozing through it.   
  
It'll have to do.   
  
Taking an extra strip of cloth, he ties it around his head, effectively hiding his eyes and scar. He immediately feels calmer, more grounded.   
  
Adam shakily stands up, sheaths Wilt, and takes step after step.   
  
Think.    
  
Nowhere to go, his face will be on every screen here to Vacuo. The White Fang possibly disbanded with Sienna being killed by that human that threatened him into assisting her.   
  
_ I'm taking over the attack on Vale. _ _  
_ _  
_ _ That's too risky, these humans are unpredictable. _ _  
_ _  
_ He shouldn't have told her about the attack at all.   
  
_ The woman, eyes ablaze, a sword straight through Sienna’s chest. _ _  
_ _  
_ Adam became the leader of the White Fang not long after that. He was so  _ stupid. _ _  
_ _  
_ Don't think about it. Survive.   
  
He trips over a root and falls. Pain lances up through his chest. He bites the inside of his cheeks to avoid shouting out.   
  
He gets up and keeps moving.   
  
  
Hours pass.   
  
Finally, he arrives in an abandoned village. It's obvious that it is relatively high-end, human. Adam carefully skids down a hill to reach broken cobblestone road. He could find resources in these dilapidated houses. Proper first aid kits for starters.   
  
The closest home has a caved in roof and a torn away door. Easy to enter.   
  
The first thing he sees is a toy. A small wooden horse meant for a toddler.   
  
Something in his chest hurts.   
  
_ It belonged to a human. It's not important. _ _  
_ _  
_ _ A child.  _ His brain rationalizes.   
  
He continues through to where a kitchen is, most of the cabinets missing doors. Thankfully, his wound has mostly stopped bleeding.   
  
He sorts though broken bottles, and finds not first aid, but food. Some kind of preserved orange fruit in a jar of syrup. Adam swallows it down greedily. It had been a full night of walking, the sun starting to peek over the forest’s trees.   
  
Adam wipes spare syrup off the corner of his mouth. He continues searching the house for anything useful. He ends up with two more jars of a different preserved food, a bucket, and some bedsheets. Looks like these will be new bandages.   
  
In the center of the town is a well. Using his bucket, he pulls up slightly-murky water. Using or drinking it would only kill him faster. He’ll have to decontaminate it first.   
  
Taking the bedsheets he took out with him, he filters out the sand and dirt. He’ll have to go back to the kitchen to boil the water. Dragging the now wet and dirty bed sheets behind him, he goes back to his temporary shelter.

  
  


It's been a few days. He has a water source, he’s found food, he’s been able to change his bandages.   
  
But it was too late. The bullet graze was already infected.   
  
Ugly yellows paint the left side of his body, red streaks stemming from the wound. Every step and movement sends pain through the rest of his body. His vision is blurry around the edges. He doesn't have medicine.   
  
He’s going to die. Either the infection will kill him or a nearby grimm will sense his misery and come finish him off.   
  
Adam takes a wad of soaked cloth and gently dabs at his infected wound, hissing through his teeth the whole time. It won't be enough, but it'll delay the inevitable.   
  
He feels sickness crawling in the back of his throat. He heaves into another pail he's found.   
  
Adam stays like that, kneeling over a bucket, sick running down his chin, body painted with the most disgusting colour palette imaginable.   
  
A few minutes pass. Eventually, Adam wipes his chin, sloppily re-wraps his side, and crawls to the door of the building he's been hiding in.   
  
He uses Wilt and Blush as a cane, pushing himself upward slowly, having to bite his lip to avoid screaming.   
  
Might as well make his body easily available for whatever passes by. The police or some unfortunate traveller will find his body, or maybe he’ll be swallowed whole by some starving grimm. Maybe it’ll take a while, and only his skeleton will remain.   
  
It doesn't really matter.   
  
Pushing open the door, he half shuffles, half stumbles to sit propped up on the building’s ivy-covered wall.   
  
The memory of the same position, but instead it's a tree trunk he was propped against.   
  
The instinct to survive had been so strong then. Funny what just a few days of non-stop pain could reduce him to.   
  
  
Adam closes his seeing eye behind his blindfold.   
  
Maybe fate will be merciful and let him die in his sleep.   
  
  
Fate is not merciful.   
  
Instead, fate comes in a red and blue blur with loud noise.   
  
So much noise. It sounds like shouting, almost. Adam laughs. There's nothing else he knows to do but chuckle. He regrets it, of course.   
  
The noise increases in frequency, there's more blurs now, a multi-colour array of figures.   
  
Belatedly, he realizes that the cacophony above him is composed of voices. Loud, shouting voices. He hears words, but his brain won't make sense of them until later.   
  
Suddenly he's being moved. Burning pain shoots through his body, heightened by his fever. He screams, voice hoarse and dry. All the noise quiets around him, leaving the echo of his pain ringing in his ears.   
  
Wet streaks through his blindfold. He’s crying.   
  
Everything is burning.   
  
After his throat is too sore to continue screaming, the voices start up again, quieter and quicker. Angry. Stressed. Level. Determined.   
  
Adam just wants the pain to stop.   
  
Something picks him up, his vision too cut out to make sense of what or who.   
  
He passes out.   
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cinder killed Sienna because of reasons


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SSSN finds Adam

  
  
  
Neptune does not like being angry. Especially at any of his friends, his teammates. He hates being angry at Sun the most. Mostly because he knows Sun is better than whatever he did to make Neptune angry.   
  
And yet, here they were.   
  
One Adam Taurus blearily half-alive, feverish and in pain.   
  
“He’s hurt! We can't just leave him here to suffer!” Neptune shouts.   
  
“He’s  _ Adam Taurus,  _ Neptune! He’s not exactly a good person!” Sun yells back.   
  
The person in question had just screamed himself hoarse when Neptune and Sage had tried to move him. No matter who he was, he didn't deserve to die like  _ this. _ _   
_ _   
_ “We’re helping him. End of discussion.”   
  
Sun fumed. “You're not the leader, Neptune. It's better if we just drop him off at the nearest town.”   
  
“You know very well that no one will help him.”   
  
Sun gestures like that was his whole point. “Because everyone else knows what he did!”   
  
Scarlet and Sage watched the ping-pong match of morals with weariness and hesitation. Their leader had clashed with them on multiple occasions, sure. But Neptune was a mostly ‘go with the flow’ type of guy. He never purposefully instigated arguments or fights.   
  
Except for now, apparently. When someone’s life was on the line.   
  
Sage stepped in, mere presence seeming to shut the two up. “We get him help. Once he’s no longer in danger of dying, we can get authorities involved.”   
  
Neptune was relieved, but still didn't look too happy.   
  
Sun looked away, gritting his teeth. “Fine.”   
  
With their leader finally on board, Sage, being the strongest, carefully lifted Adam up and started walking.   
  
He didn't scream again, but Neptune could still hear his pained groans. After a minute, the faunus was out-cold.   
  
Sun took up the back of their little posse, wanting to stew and sulk in peace. Neptune figured Sun thought that eventually he would apologize first. But this was something Neptune refused to budge on.   
  
Periodically, Neptune would check on Adam to make sure he was still alive. And he was, but barely. His face was flushed with fever, his breathing was shallow, and there was the matter of whatever infected wound was on his body.   
  
“He’s going to live.” Neptune told himself firmly.   
  
Sage knew he wasn't being addressed, and just grunted in acknowledgement.   
  
Neptune was thankful for Sage, his solid presence alone was enough to keep those around him grounded.   
  
  
Time passes. The group traverses the woods, looking for any smoke or sign of settlement. Eventually, they did find a small settlement. A couple newly-built buildings, but mostly temporary housing.   
  
“We’ll be able to find help there!” Neptune takes off, not thinking.   
  
There were no people outside. Seconds later, Neptune realizes why.   
  
A grimm, birdlike in shape but with two beaked heads and two more feline-esque tails behind it. It's not any type of grimm Neptune has seen before. He suddenly feels stupid for charging in.   
  
The grimm charges toward Neptune, he barely has time to pull out Tri-hard before the grimm is upon him.   
  
He’s knocked away, skidding across gravel.    
  
The grimm hastily follows him, stopped only by Scarlet digging their cutlass in the middle of the creature’s shoulder blades. It screeches, then quickly turns to dust and smoke.   
  
“You good?” Scarlet calls to him, Sun and Sage coming up behind them. Neptune shakily gives a thumbs-up.   
  
Clapping sounds around them. Neptune lays a hand around Tri-hard, fearing the worst. Instead, it seems the villagers are coming out of their sanctuaries, Relief and gratitude present on their faces.   
  
One woman in particular steps forward, and grasps Scarlet’s hand. “Thank you, huntsman. For helping us. Please, if we may repay you for your good deed.”   
  
Scarlet looks vaguely uncomfortable, but Sage quickly comes to aid, and nods to the body in his arms.   
  
“He needs help.”   
  
The woman blinks, then nods. Neptune is grateful that she doesn't seem to recognize Adam’s face.   
  
She leads them through the dispersing villagers, into a large tent. Small bottles filled with ointments and oils line a small clay cubby, herbs flowing out of it. A rough cot sits in the middle of the tent.   
  
“Lay him down on the cot.” She says.   
  
Sage does just that. As soon as he does, she gets to work, lifting up Adam’s blood-stained shirt to reveal a disgusting mass of yellows and reds stemming from a nasty dark graze.   
  
Neptune isn't sure what she does, besides clean the wound and rub something from one of her bottles over it, then re-dress it with actual bandages, not whatever he was previously using.   
  
“Your friend will have to stay here for some time.”   
  
“Great!” Sun throws up his hands, “We’ll just be on our way, then.”   
  
Neptune glares at Sun.   
  
“What? We got him help like you said, we can go now.”   
  
Neptune sighs. “Thank you for your help, ma’am.”   
  
She smiles. “You defended my home. It is the least I can do. You four may stay here until your friend wakes up. I have mats you may use to sleep on.”   
  
Sun grumbles, but relents. “Thank you.”   
  
Neptune nudges Sun. “We need to rest up too, you know.”   
  
He just huffs and leaves the tent.   
  
They had been traveling for a while after seeing off team RWBY and the others. Sun had come back from Menagerie and was leading them to Vacuo, where hopefully the threat of whatever went down at Beacon would be behind them.   
  
The woman handed the remaining members of team SSSN a sleeping mat.   
  
“Where did the yellow one go?”   
  
“Blow off steam.” Scarlet answered, laying his mat in the furthest corner.    
  
Sage laid his mat next to theirs. He thought he was slick. It wasn't long before the two of them drifted off, the sun was going down, and they had been walking non-stop from the abandoned town to here.   
  
Neptune didn't want to sleep yet. He was worried. About Sun, about his brothers, about the ex-White Fang leader literally a few steps away from him. Even though Adam Taurus had hurt people,  _ people he knew, like Yang _ , Neptune wanted to believe that he didn't deserve the pain they had found him in. Like Pluto would have said, he was very idealistic.   
  
“He’s going to be okay, right?”   
  
The woman smiled, a knowing twinkle in her eye. “He will live, yes.”   
  
Neptune sighed, relieved this time. He laid his mat down relatively close to the ex-leader, wanting to be the first to know if he woke up.   
  
It wasn't long before Neptune was drifting off to sleep.   
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to yell at me if you'd like


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam wakes

  
  
  
  
Adam slowly wakes. His head is pounding and his body aches. His blindfold rubs against his good eye, irritating it.   
  
His first coherent thought is that _ I'm alive. _ _   
_ _   
_ His second is  _ where am I? _ _   
_ _   
_ Without moving too much, he looks around. Everything is fuzzy, but that’s a small price to pay for comfort. He's in a tent of some sort, laying on a cot. Did someone find him? Bring him here?   
  
He slowly flexes his wrists. No handcuffs. Whoever found him didn't involve police. He starts to push himself up. He’s shirtless, thick wads of bandage wrapped around his torso. His side aches, but the constant burn is gone.   
  
“You’re awake.” A woman’s voice startles him. She comes from the bad side of his face, in his blind spot.    
  
She’s human.   
  
It takes everything in Adam not to sneer. She’s been healing him hasn't she? “Did you bring me here?”   
  
She shakes her head, confused. “No. Your friends did. You were very hurt, your wound was infected.”   
  
“My friends?” Fellow faunus, possibly White Fang. “Where are they?”   
  
“Outside. You have been asleep for some time. But you are mostly healed now.”   
  
Adam pushes himself up fully. He doesn't want to thank her, but she helped him, and she’s polite to him, it's rare for a human to treat faunus with any kindness.   
  
“Thank you.”   
  
She tuts at him, “Thank your friends for defending my home and bringing you here, you would not have survived otherwise.” She smiles, “but you are welcome.”   
  
Adam tries to get off the cot, but the woman quickly stops him.   
  
“It is not good to walk now, you will be very sore.”   
  
He grunts, but he knows this human is right. Adam watches as the woman bustles around her tent before eventually leaving with an “I’ll tell them you're awake.”   
  
Whispers start beyond the tent flap not long afterward. They sound familiar somehow, but not like any White Fang members Adam knows.   
  
A monkey faunus comes through the tent flap, tail angrily curled behind him. Adam knows this person, he was at Haven,  _ with Blake.  _   
  
Adam reaches for Wilt, but discovers she's not there. He's injured and defenseless. The faunus sees his motions and scowls.   
  
“Sun, wait-” someone else crashes through the tent.   
  
The faunus, Sun, whispers angrily to the newcomer. “He’s alive, and awake. That's it, that's all I agreed to, we can leave now.”   
  
The newcomer, a human with blue hair, turns to Adam. “Are you okay?”   
  
Adam is too shocked to do anything but nod. This human obviously knows Blake’s friend, but Adam is still distrustful of whatever situation he seems to have found himself in.   
  
After a full minute of uncomfortable silence, Adam finds the volition to ask, “Where’s my sword?” He tries to not sound panicked without Wilt and Blush close to him.   
  
Sun just scowls deeper, but the blue human looks thankful for the silence break. He pulls Wilt and Blush out from the otherside of the clay cubby.   
  
“Here we are.” He says, smiling.   
  
The second Adam touches Wilt’s hilt, he’s instantly calmer. Wilt, being a part of his semblance, is technically a part of his soul, and he feels incomplete without her. Blush is, of course, how Adam keeps Wilt close.   
  
Adam sighs, holding Wilt like a lifeline. “You brought me here. Why?”   
  
Sun obviously knows what Adam had done, the humans he's hurt.    
  
Sun scoffs, then gestures to his blue companion. “Look at Neptune, not me.”   
  
Blue human- Neptune looks at Adam, not quite with pity, but that's the closest emotion Adam can compare it to.   
  
“I couldn't just leave you there.”   
  
Adam blinks. He has no idea what to make of this human.   
  
“I dont know if youre naive or just stupid.” Adam’s mouth says, his brain in no control of the situation.   
  
Sun, somehow, grimaces even more.   
  
“Little bit of both, really.” Neptune snorts, then sobers. “We’re going to Vacuo. You should come with us.”   
  
“What.”   
  
“What!?”   
  
Both faunus speak at once, but Neptune doesn't retract his statement. Instead, he shoots Adam an apologetic look and pulls Sun out of the tent by his arm.   
  
The argument starts up seconds later, Adam catching just snippets of Neptune’s side of the dialogue.   
  
“He’s dangerous! The second he’s healed enough he’ll turn on us!”   
  
“-Four verses one...injured”   
  
“You don't know him like I do, Nep!”   
  
“-Sounding like a jilted ex-lover.”   
  
“He’s hurt people! He cut off Yang’s arm! And you want us to escort him to Vacuo?!”   
  
And yeah, Adam did do that. But she was human. Humans are inherently cruel, and those that aren't are unpredictable. The human woman from before could just as easily have killed him, and Neptune could have left him to die in that abandoned village.   
  
But he hadn't, had he?   
  
“-Safe for him...Vacuo’s government-”   
  
Sun speaks, a lot quieter than before. “This is a bad idea.”   
  
“...” Neptune says something, but Adam can't figure out how to decipher it.   
  
A minute passes, then Sun walks back into the tent, restrained fury in his gaze.   
  
“We turn you over to the Mistral police, you get what you deserve. Or, you go with us to Vacuo, no funny business.”   
  
“Don't you mean monkey business?”   
  
Adam’s attempt at levity was apparently not appreciated, because suddenly Sun was right up in his face.   
  
“Listen, Taurus, I  _ really  _ don't like you, and the only reason I haven't bothered to kill you myself is because my best friend’s heart is too big for his own good. Either you come with us, or we turn you in. Your call.”   
  
There was no choice, really. Being turned in meant certain death. Vacuo had a very lax government, and people with less than desirable pasts were welcomed with open arms. It was also the most faunus accepting major city in all of Remnant.   
  
“I’ll go.”   
  
Sun nods, then backs off.   
  
“Right then. Sword.” He holds out his hand.   
  
“Excuse me?”   
  
“I don't trust you with it. I hang on to the sword until we get to Vacuo, then you get it back.”   
  
Adam hesitated. Wilt was the only connection to his semblance he had. But if it was between her and survival, he knows what his first priority would be.   
  
“Fine.” Adam roughly shoves Wilt and Blush into Sun’s open palm.   
  
Sun looks unsurprised, but calmer than before, now that Adam doesn't have any weapon in hand.   
  
“We leave first thing tomorrow.” Sun leaves the tent.   
  
Adam doesn't know what time it is, other than the daylight filtering through the tent flap. He supposes it doesn't really matter, he needs to get up either way.   
  
He swings his feet over the side of the cot, pausing to catch his breath. He’s hungry, his head still hurts, and a piece of his soul is now in the clutches of someone who hates him.   
  
_ Sounds like a regular saturday night. _

  
Adam really needs to get more sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new member has been added to the party!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and off they go!

  
  
Neptune found Adam shuffling back to the medic tent. Neptune had only seen news photos of him, strong and intimidating. But now? He looked weak, helpless almost. Neptune couldn't help but feel bad for him.   
  
Without his permission, Neptune’s legs pull him right beside Adam. He makes sure to be loud doing so. Considering Adam’s blindfold, it must be pretty hard to see, if he can see at all.   
  
“Hey.”   
  
_ Great conversation starter, Neptune. _ _   
_ _   
_ Adam seems surprised that Neptune is talking to him at all. Maybe. It's kind of hard to perceive any emotion on Adam’s face. A part of Neptune’s brain wonders if it would be easier to read him without the blindfold.   
  
“Blue one.” Adam acknowledges him.   
  
Neptune almost laughs. That was not the greeting he expected.   
  
“You can call me Neptune you know. Or Vasilias if you're one of those types who only calls people by their last names. Which, you don't really seem like the type, but don't judge a dog by its teeth you know?”   
  
Stop talking.   
  
“Is that insensitive? Animal metaphors? They don't bother Sun but everyones different. I'm rambling aren't I? I do that when I'm nervous.”   
  
_ Please  _ stop talking.   
  
“Not that I'm nervous around you. I didn't mean that, even though you are very intimidating. I just meant like, in general, around new people I'm trying to impress but also scared to flirt with, which is usually how I meet new people, annoying them.”   
  
Adam is full-on staring at him like he's insane, which by this point isn't too far from the truth.   
  
“You talk a lot.”   
  
Neptune buries his face into his hands. Ground please swallow him up now.   
  
“I am so sorry, i'm normally not-”   
  
“Adam.”   
  
“-like this. Pardon?”   
  
Adam’s hand fiddles with the hem of his shirt. Newly acquired and blood-red, like his hair. Neptune wonders if that's a nervous tick, fiddling with things.   
  
“You introduced yourself. Im Adam. Taurus.”   
  
It strikes Neptune that Adam is kind of a dork. Ex-leader of the White Fang and one of the most feared people around, all of Remnant’s news-watching populace knows of him.   
  
_ Do something! _ _   
_ _   
_ Neptune sticks out his hand, pretending they just met. “Well then, Adam, nice to officially meet you.”   
  
Adam hesitantly returns the hand shake, but ends it as soon as possible.   
  
“What's with the shirt fiddling?”   
  
_ Thank you, brain to mouth filter, for not working. _ _   
_ _   
_ Adam looks (again, maybe) surprised that Neptune noticed, then grudgingly answers.   
  
“I don't have Wilt.”   
  
It takes Neptune a second to realize what Adam was talking about.   
  
“Wilt? Your...sword?”   
  
Adam nods.   
  
“Ah. Sorry about that.”   
  
Adam shrugs, he's very conversational, Neptune notices. After a beat of silence, Adam apparently decides that the conversation is over, and goes back into the medic tent.   
  
_ That went well. _

+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^

Confusion seems to be Adam’s main emotion at the moment. For whatever reason, Neptune has willingly seeked Adam out. Not to threaten him like Sun had, but merely to strike up conversation.   
  
It wasn't really something that had ever happened before. White Fang members were all professional with Adam, and even his fellow faunus wouldn't talk to him unless necessary.   
  
Well, except for a few exceptions.   
  
Nevertheless, it had grown late. Twilight shines above Adam’s head, and sleep seems all too welcoming.   
  
Adam flops face first onto the cot, allowing the world to dissolve around him.   
  
  
Morning comes all too early.    
  
It's not even dawn when Sun roughly shoves him to wake him up.   
  
Adam grunts, “I thought you said first light.”   
  
“Yep! That's when we leave, not when we get up.”   
  
Adam groans as Sun leaves the tent. It's just barely light outside, the sun still hiding. Today is going to be a long day.   
  
Adam sits up, and is pleasantly surprised to find that his body no longer burns. He lightly touches his side where the stray bullet grazed him, and is pleased to note that its only sore, the stinging pain is gone.   
  
Might as well get ready.   
  
  
The awake villagers see them off, the woman who healed Adam amongst them. Neptune continues waving to the people behind them until they're out of sight.   
  
There are two more members of the party than Adam was aware of, a green and red one. The green one ignores Adam, and the red one just glances at Adam distrustfully from time to time.   
  
Typical humans then.   
  
Sun leads the group in front of all of them, Wilt and Blush tied to his belt. Adam tries to not let that get to him.   
  
Adam would attempt to stay close to the only other faunus, but Sun has made it explicitly clear he wants nothing to do with him. Most of them want nothing to do with him.   
  
Expect for one, that is.   
  
Neptune has been nothing if not welcoming, it makes Adam wonder what his game is. Lure him into a false sense of security? Get his guards down? And yet, any answer Adam can come up with doesn't fit. Neptune doesn't seem like the manipulative type, not like Adam is.   
  
It seems wisest to stick close to Neptune, him being the most accepting of the group. Neptune notices, and sends a smile to Adam.   
  
“The trees are nice.” Neptune says, not to anyone is particular.   
  
Red looks confused, “trees are everywhere in Anima.”   
  
“I know that! But they look nice when you focus on them, and aren't being tossed by a beowolf into a trunk.”   
  
Red and Green chuckle, and Adam suspects there's a story there. But now that Neptune mentions it, the trees  _ are _ nice. Sunlight filtered through their leaves, dappling the ground.   
  
“Who wants to play a game?” Neptune says.   
  
Adam suspects it's to keep the tension away. He shrugs.   
  
“Sure.”   
  
Neptune looks happily surprised that Adam was the first who answered.   
  
“Cool! So, I spy-”   
  
For an hour or so, they play I spy, a game that Adam never heard of, which led to Neptune excitedly explaining the rules. Green and Red joined in, then eventually Sun, before they realized there wasn't much variation in their environment and it got boring.   
  
It was nice, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neptune is literally me though


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uh. stuff happens. Adam is awkward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a mistake

  
  


Walking through Anima’s forests was not, in fact, a walk in the park. Neptune isn't really sure what he expected. Sun told all of them that Ruby’s temporary team up only sparingly met grimm here and there.   
  
This was not here and there.   
  
Neptune fires another blast of energy at an oncoming grimm, of which he doesn't remember the name.   
  
Of course, when running from giant murder pigs, names arent very important.   
  
The blast doesnt really do anything, besides blind murder hog, allowing enough time for Sage to stab it straight through its back. Neptune sees Scarlet duck as Sun sends another murder pig crashing through the trees.   
  
All of the grimm are gone except for the one going against Adam, who is bravely fending it off with a sizable tree branch, wielding it like a sword. It's kind of hilarious, actually. Neptune can tell he's never used any staff-type weapon.   
  
Neptune watches bemusedly as Adam gives up on his stick-sword, and justs headbutt the thing in its side. After seeing Adam use his horns to dust a grimm in one hit, Neptune is sort of jealous. Even without a proper weapon or being able to use his semblance, Adam is still an incredibly skilled fighter.   
  
Neptune isn't even aware he's staring until Scarlet is waving their hand in front of his face.    
  
Neptune’s jaw shuts with an audible click. Scarlet smirks, like he knows something Neptune doesn't.   
  
“Let's keep moving.” Sun says.   
  
Neptune knocks his shoulder against Adam’s as they press forward.   
  
“That was awesome.”   
  
“What?” Adam says, shock evident in his voice.   
  
“Your fighting.”   
  
Adam scoffs. “I didn't even have Wilt.”   
  
“Exactly! You defeated a grimm without your weapon or semblance. It was cool.”   
  
Adam looks away, not meeting Neptune’s gaze. Scarlet jogs back to where the two of them drag behind the rest of the group.   
  
“Sun says we’ll rest for the night in the next safe place we find.”

The next safe place ending up being a thin clearing about an hour away from murder pig central. Sage and Sun drop their bags immediately.   
  
“Scar, Sage, set up camp and watch Taurus. Neptune, come with me to get firewood.” Sun says, already stalking off into the trees.   
  
Neptune shoots his team a look, then follows Sun. He has a feeling this isn't just a simple gatherer task.   
  
“You know what he's done, right?”   
  
“ _ Sun. _ ” Neptune says, exasperated already.   
  
Sun holds up his hand. “No. You don't get it. I know you believe everyone can change and be a good person yada yada-”   
  
Neptune huffs, crossing his arms. He knows it's childish, but they've had this conversation plenty of times before.   
  
“-But this isn't a Friendship cures all situation. He's hurt people, hell, he's killed humans before. He  _ is _ dangerous, Neptune. Hes a time bomb waiting to go off.”   
  
Sun drops his eyes. “And I don't want you in the blast radius when that happens.”   
  
Neptune cant handle being mad at Sun anymore. He's never been able to hold a grudge. Sun huffs as Neptune hugs him.   
  
“What? Not mad at me anymore?” Sun cheekily grins.   
  
Neptune flicks his head. “You're my best friend. I could never really be mad at you. Frustrated? Absolutely.” Neptune pauses. “I can take care of myself.”   
  
They both know what he's referring to.   
  
“I know. Just be careful, alright?”   
  
“Says the guy who jumps off buildings for fun.”   
  
“Hey! I'll have you know I only broke a bone doing that twice!”   
  
“Only twice, huh.”   
  
“Fracturing does not equal breaking.”   
  
Neptune laughs. He's glad Sun is back to being his, well, usual sunny self.   
  
“Okay but we do actually need firewood.”   
  
And just like that, all grudges are forgotten.

+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^

Adam watched as Neptune and Sun came out of the woods, laughing the whole way along. Looks like they’ve made up.   
  
Adam tries and fails to squash the feelings of jealousy creeping up in his stomach. It's pathetic, he's barely known Neptune for a few days and already latched onto him like an imprinted chick.   
  
And yet, here we are.   
  
Twilight washes through the sky, and camp is quickly set up. A ring of mats around a shabbily made fire pit.   
  
The shattered moon hangs overhead.   
  
“So,” Neptune starts, “stories?”   
  
Adam hears various noises of disagreement around the circle.   
  
Neptune throws his hands straight up. “Well, then we can all stay silent and be alone with our thoughts.”   
  
“And sleep. Great idea.” The Green one says.   
  
Neptune huffs and rolls over, and for some inane reason, Adam is disappointed. Like usual, he ignores it.

+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^

It's still dark when Adam wakes up. A gentle breeze wisps through the treetops. Adam blinks quickly, trying to clear his mind.   
  
Unfamiliar voices come through the foliage.   
  
Adam shoots up, snapping his head and looking around. There shouldn't be other people out here. Huntsman seem most likely, but they could hopefully just be lost travelers.   
  
Adam pinpoints the noise coming from a fallen tree trunk. There, sits a figure.   
  
As Adam sneaks closer, he sees that Neptune is slumped against the trunk, blue light from his scroll’s screen highlighting his face.   
  
The voices are coming from his scroll, a video of two people Adam doesn't know speaking in an unrecognizable language.   
  
Adam intentionally steps on a twig to alert Neptune of his presence.   
  
Neptune snaps to attention, throwing his head backward to look at Adam. “Uh, hey.”   
  
It's then that Adam notices that Neptune has barely-there tear tracks running down his cheeks. He's never been good with emotions in general, so he isn't sure how to proceed. Does he ignore this or attempt comfort? How do you comfort people?   
  
“Why were you crying?”   
  
Not like that you idiot.   
  
Neptune chuckles, a humourless sound. “Missing people, I guess.”   
  
“Oh. I'm sorry for your loss.”

That was the most awkward thing that has ever come out of his mouth.   
  
Neptune laughs again, but this time it's surprised. He looks back to Adam with a smile on his face.   
  
“They aren't dead. I just haven't seen them in a while.”   
  
Neptune scoots over a bit, allowing Adam to sit down. He points to the people in the recording.   
  
“The blond one is my little brother, Jupiter. He's a jerk but we love him. And that's Pluto, our older brother. He used to be a Huntsman. In the middle child.”   
  
“What language was that? That they were speaking.”   
  
Neptune looks sheepish suddenly. “Spanish. Im bi. In both senses of the word.”   
  
Adam has no idea what that means.   
  
“Ah.”   
  
“You're fine with that?”   
  
Why wouldn't he be?   
  
“...yes?”   
  
Neptune looks a lot happier, more at ease. “Cool! I mean, not that I assumed you wouldn't be but like you never know, y’know?”   
  
What's happening.   
  
“Uh... Sure, yeah.”   
  
Neptune breathes a sigh of relief. “So? What about you? What kind of people do you like?   
  
Wait. Is that what he meant? Bi-sexual?   
  
Adam would have answered, probably a stumbling, embarrassing attempt at speech, but the bushes in front of them started to rustle, loudly.   
  
Neptune quickly pulled out his weapon, aiming it at the possible grimm. Adam didn't have wilt, so he assumed a typical fighting stance.

The bushes stopped moving.

“What do you think it was-”   
  
Neptune didn't even get to finish his sentence before something small and gray shot out of the darkness straight toward his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thing happen? I guess?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I would die for Niebla ok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout at me over at RWBY-encyclopedia if ya want

  
It was a cat. A small, gray, and very frightened kitten. A cat that had launched itself straight onto Neptune’s face and latched itself there.  
  
After a good five minutes of panic ebbing away, the cat had calmed down enough to rest in Neptune’s arms.   
  
“So.” Adam started.   
  
“We have a team mascot now.”   
  
“We- what. You're keeping the cat?”   
  
Neptune scoffed, “Well i'm not just going to let it go off and get eaten by something.”   
  
“I don't know if Sun would be okay with another unexpected party member.”   
  
“I'm naming her Niebla.”   
  
“And he's named it. Fine. Yes. okay. You have a cat now.”   
  
“Uh we have a cat. Joint custody and all that.”   
  
“Excuse me?”   
  
“Well you were here when we found her, and I'm too young to be a single parent.”   
  
“I can't just be a father!”   
  
Niebla mews. “Honey, please, not in front of our daughter.”   
  
It's amusing to see bright red creep up Adam’s face, before a smirk plants itself there.   
  
“Of course, my love. However could I fight with a star as bright as you? In front of our own child, no less!”   
  
Uh, wow, talk about a complete 180 there. He can play along though.   
  
“Well, babe-”   
  
“What the hell are you two doing?”   
  
Neptune and Adam both jump a foot in the air as Scarlet comes out from the trees.   
  
“Uhh…” Neptune starts.   
  
Niebla meows at the new person.   
  
“We adopted a cat.”   
  
Scarlet stares at the two of them, exasperation in every line of his face. His eyes glance to Niebla, to Adam, to Neptune, before he promptly turns around and stalks back to camp.   
  
“Nope!” He calls, flicking a rude finger behind their back.   
  
Once Scarlet is past the trees, Adam asks, “so when did we wake them up, do you think? Your screeching?”   
  
Neptune gasps. “I did not screech! Niebla just surprised me!”   
  
“So you wake the whole forest?”   
  
Neptune lightly slaps Adam’s shoulder.

+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^

The team falls in love with Niebla immediately. Sun keeps trying to carry her, Sage smiles whenever she mews in his direction, and Scarlet will coo at her constantly.  
  
She's still skittish, and mostly just chills on Neptune’s or Adam’s shoulder.   
  
Adam won't admit it, but he loves Niebla just as much. Neptune watches as Adam feeds her extra treats when no one else is looking with the _softest_ look on his face.   
  
Neptune wants to take a photo each time it happens and send it to everyone who thinks Adam is heartless.   
  
Of course, that's a horrible idea, Adam would probably hate him, and anyone who received the picture would tell the police their location immediately.   
  
Neptune settles for just making the photo his lock screen. His home screen is already taken by a photo of him and his brothers, before everything fell apart around them.   
  
It's a pleasant photo, all things considered.   
  
Neptune clicks his scroll off, tucking it away. Team SSSN (SSSAN? Sand?) has been traveling for a few more days, and they're already reached a town on the edge of Anima, with ships, ships that will take them straight to Vale. Eventually, they’ll reach Vacuo, Sun’s home field. After the fall of Beacon, students scattered. Many schools in Mistral filled, especially after the attack on Haven.   
  
Neptune stretches. It had been a long three days since they found Niebla. And he really was not looking forward to a long cruise over the waters.

+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^

Adam pulls the shroud further over his face. He has his blindfold, yes. But his hair is recognizable. With his hair down, and only his horns and lower half of his face showing, he's less likely to be noticed. He trails behind Green (he should find out his name), weaving through buildings and people. They missed the last ship by an hour, and it'll be a week until the new one arrives unless they find a small-scale sailor.  
  
Green and he look for a place to stay. An inn is certain to be somewhere in larger towns such as this, and they have the Lien to rent a small room for a while. There's hopefully a few odd jobs around they can earn extra Lien at. If not, Adam is used to sleeping on the streets. A sad thing to be used to, but when you're an orphaned faunus, you learn to make the best of what you have.   
  
(Adam always knew he deserved more, that he wasn't just a street rat, so sometimes he would sneak into near empty inns, he learnt how to pick locks and how innkeepers folded their bedding so it never looked like some kid spent the night there prior.)   
  
“Here seems good.” Green stopped abruptly, nearly making Adam crash into him.   
  
A slightly rundown inn. Ivy crawls around it, framing the doorway and windows. A sign hangs above the door, slightly faded to say ‘-sey’s Inn-NO PETS ALLOWED!’ Adam gives Green a _look,_ hoping the meaning sinks in.   
  
Green shrugs. “We’ll just sneak Niebla in.”   
  
Green pushes the door open, letting Adam walk in first. There's a small common area, and a front desk.   
  
Adam rings the bell as Green comes to stand beside him.   
  
“Just a moment!” A woman’s voice calls.   
  
A second later, a woman with peach coloued hair comes through from a back door, she wipes her hands on her apron and smiles at the two of them.   
  
“What can I do for-”   
  
For a second, anyway.   
  
Her face quickly settles into a thinly veiled look of disgust. Adam knows that look all too well. He shifts on his feet, ready to be screamed at or kicked out or have to defend himself. Green stiffens beside him.   
  
“Didn't you read the sign?”   
  
Adam has to fight back tears prickling behind his blindfold. He's stronger than that. And yet, every time something like this happens, he feels like a little kid again, trying to hide from the outside world in his father’s arms.   
  
He wants to bite back, wants to yell and scream about how that isn't _fair._ It isn't _right._ _  
_ _  
_ “I can see why you have no customers.” Green says, firm and unnoticeably hostile.   
  
The woman flusters, her face turning as pink as her hair.   
  
Green continues on, “perhaps if you were a little more open-minded to the fact that not everyone is a carbon copy of you and could act like a reasonable adult, you wouldn't be running a failing business.”   
  
Green briskly walks out, Adam relishes in the woman’s shocked and angry face for just a moment before following him.   
  
Outside, Green is a few feet away, sidled up to the building across the street. Adam joins him.   
  
They stand in silence together, before Green speaks in the angriest and most emotion filled voice Adam has ever heard from him.   
  
“I _hate_ people like that.” Green is scowling.   
  
Adam’s tongue is caught in his throat. This is the second human who has stood up for him, and he still doesn't know how to react.   
  
“I...Thanks.”   
  
Green gives him a small smile.   
  
“Come on. We should go find the others, hopefully they had more luck than we did.”   
  
Adam waits for a moment, staring at Green’s back. His name, which had constantly been on the tip of his tongue, came to him.

  
  
Sage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nobody reads this but hope whoever gets to the bottom of this page is having a good day!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a little break

Sage was glad the rest of his team had better luck than he and Adam. Scarlet, Sun, and Neptune had found a slightly larger, friendly inn, the team had already rented out one room (it would be too expensive to rent two for a whole week).   
  
Scarlet was excitedly explaining a lovely restaurant they had found, flowers growing around it. “They do breakfast too! Suddenly I want pancakes.”   
  
Sage sees Neptune shoot him a  _ look.  _ Sage knows that Neptune  _ knows,  _ but he's too nice to lock them in a closet together. If Sun ever caught wind of how Sage and Scarlet are dancing around each other, he wouldn't hesitate to introduce them to the dust mops.   
  
Sage just slightly nods his head toward their second newest addition, who's cradling Niebla in his arms.   
  
Neptune just rolls his eyes, but Sage sees the pink dusting his cheeks.

  
  
Perhaps he and Scarlet aren't the only two dancing around each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little break


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh? Whats this?

There's only two beds. Neptune obviously  _ knew,  _ but it never really sunk in. Now, after dark has already set, and the whole team is ready to crash, does he actually realize.   
  
There are two beds, and a couch. They’ll have to double up.   
  
Sage and Scarlet have already claimed the bed closest to the bathroom. Neptune is wondering if they've sorted themselves out or still pretending there's nothing there.   
  
Sun pulls the cushions of the couch. “Its a pull-out.”   
  
So, technically three beds, but the couch-bed is too small for two people.   
  
“Dibs.” Sun says, hopping on top with a wolfish (monkey-ish?) grin.   
  
Well.   
  
Adam and Neptune glace at the far bed by the window, the only available space left. Niebla meows, hopping out of Adam’s arms, straight onto the pillows.   
  
“Well our child definitely approves.” Adam grins, before sprawling himself right next to her, scritching under her chin.   
  
The grin on Sun’s face dies down quickly as he sees Adam get comfortable. Scarlet snickers in the background, and Sage is giving Neptune a knowing look.   
  
Neptune maturely sticks out his tongue, before flopping down at the foot of the bed.   
  
He has a feeling it's going to be a long night.

+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^

Neptune is dying. Absolutely, positively. Everyone else is happily asleep, and Niebla got so fed up with Neptune’s squirming she plodded off to Uncle Sun. Neptune is awkwardly half hanging off the bed, and Adam is curled up by the headboard.   
  
It's not very comfortable by any means.   
  
Neptune shifts, again, trying to contort his body in a way so that all his limbs are not in a position to be sacrificed to whatever monster hides under beds. He and Adam did not discuss their sleeping position beforehand, so now Neptune is suffering for it.   
  
A few minutes later, Neptune twists again.   
  
“Just get up here.” Adam’s voice startles him, even as quiet as it was.   
  
“What?”   
  
Adam sighs. “You're restless, I can't sleep. Get up here and stop moving around.”   
  
Neptune rearranges himself around Adam. Now, they lay side by side, Neptune’s face to the window.   
  
“Uh. Thanks.”   
  
“Uh-huh. You scared our kid off with your jittering, least I could do.”   
  
Neptune knows Adam is just joking around, but something inside him warms at hearing Adam call Niebla ‘their kid’.   
  
“Goodnight, Adam.”

+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^

Neptune is awoken to Scarlet’s giggles and Sage’s barely restrained chuckles, along with Sun’s voice. “Scar take the picture!”   
  
It takes him a minute for his brain to process things. He sees morning’s golden light filter through the window, he tastes his unbrushed teeth. He smells the clean linen of the sheets. He feels Adam’s arm curled tightly around him, he hears-   
  
Wait.   
  
“Is it morning already?” A deep voice says  _ right next to his ear. _ _   
_ _   
_ Neptune shrieks, flails, and falls. He hit something on the way down, if the groan of pain he hears from above him is any indication. The laughter shuts off for a moment, before coming back ten-fold.   
  
“Thanks, Neptune.” Adam’s head peeks over at him, blindfolded as usual.   
  
Memory rushes back.   
  
“Did I hurt you!?” Neptune shoots up, accidentally bonking his head on the window sill, effectively sitting him back down.   
  
“Yes. You kicked me in the stomach, now we’re even.”   
  
Sun helps Neptune shakily stand up. “You aren’t concussed right?”   
  
“I don't know, are my eyes weird?” Neptune stares straight at Sun.   
  
Sun squints. “Not any more than usual.”   
  
They both burst into laughter.   
  
Somehow, the three of them are already dressed for the day (Sun and Sage’s definition of ‘dressed’ notwithstanding), while Neptune is still in pajama pants and an undershirt. He knows Adam is no better, but still.   
  
“So!” Sun starts relaying the day’s to do list. “Me and Sage are going to look for odd jobs around, see if we can scrounge up some loose lien somewhere. The redheads are going to get a week’s worth of groceries for the four of us. Neptune, you’re in charge of getting Niebla a collar and actual cat food so she isn't stealing ours.”   
  
Adam offers a weak thumbs-up, before sliding onto the ground, sheets still curled around him. Neptune can relate.   
  
Sun and Sage are already gone by the time he gets dressed. Scarlet has one of the room keys, and is waiting for both he and Adam exit before locking up.

  
Niebla meows as Neptune picks her up. “Hey kiddo. You ready to go get your own pretty collar? I'm thinking purple.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> send help pleas


End file.
